.TH odbc.ini 5 "Sun 10 Jan 2021" "version 2.3.12" "unixODBC manual pages"

.SH NAME
/etc/odbc.ini, $HOME/.odbc.ini - unixODBC data source configuration files

.SH DESCRIPTION
.B /etc/odbc.ini
is a system-wide configuration file for ODBC Data Source Names (DSNs).

.B $HOME/.odbc.ini
is a user-specific configuration file for ODBC Data Source Names (DSNs).

Paths to both configuration files can be overridden by \fIunixODBC\fR build
options. Call \fBodbcinst \-j\fR to determine the default configuration file
paths on your system.

.SH NOTES

.SS "Templates"

Many ODBC drivers come with .ini file templates. Using \fBodbcinst\fR to install
these templates is recommended.

.SS "FILE FORMAT"

\fBodbc.ini\fR follows the pesudo-standard \fIini file\fR syntax convention of
one or more \fB[section headings]\fR, each followed by zero or more \fBkey =
value\fR attributes.

.IP "\fB[ODBC Data Sources]\fR section" 4

This mandatory section lists each data source name (\fIDSN\fR) as a key.
The associated values serve as comments. Each entry must be matched by an
ini file \fB[section]\fR describing the data source.

.IP "Data Source Name \fB[section]\fR" 4

Each data source is identified by a \fB[section header]\fR, which is the DSN
name used by applications. Each DSN definition section may contain values for
the keys:

.RS 4
.IP "\(bu Driver (\fBREQUIRED\fR)" 8
The name of the ODBC driver to use for the DSN. The name must exactly match
the \fB[section name]\fR of the driver definition stored in \fBodbcinst.ini\fR
(and listed by \fBodbcinst \-q \-d\fR).

.IP "\(bu Description" 8
Human-readable data source description.

.IP "\(bu Database" 8
Database name or identifier. The meaning is driver-specific and can specify a
file path, Unix socket path, an identifier relative to a server name, etc.

.IP "\(bu Servername" 8
Server name. The meaning is driver-specific but generally specifies a DNS name, IP
network address or driver-specific discovery identifier.

.RE
For a full list of supported parameters, refer to the HTML-formatted "Administrator
Manual" shipped with \fIunixODBC\fR, the documentation for your ODBC driver and any
data-source templates supplied by your driver.

.SH EXAMPLES

An example \fBodbc.ini\fR configuration file is shown in the "Administrator Manual" shipped
with \fIunixODBC\fR.

.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR unixODBC (7),
.BR odbcinst (1),
.BR isql (1),
.BR iusql (1),
.BR odbcinst.ini (5)

"The \fIunixODBC\fB Administrator Manual (HTML)\fR"

.SH AUTHORS
The authors of unixODBC are Peter Harvey <\fIpharvey@codebydesign.com\fR> and
Nick Gorham <\fInick@lurcher.org\fR>.

For a full list of contributors, refer to the \fIAUTHORS\fR file.

.SH COPYRIGHT
unixODBC is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. For details
about the license, see the \fICOPYING\fR file.
